Senator Campfield's Follies Heading to Court

If the voters in Knoxville are paying attention, maybe the upcoming libel trial against state senator Stacey Campfield will be Reason 10,354 to replace him. Or is he indeed the Loose Cannon Which Serves A Purpose?

"It’s not too late to correct your mistake, but you better hurry. January was bad, but it’s going to get way worse when Campfield has to trek up to Campbell County to defend himself in a $750,000 libel suit filed by former state House candidate Roger Byrge. Byrge is a Democrat who lost a 2008 race by 391 votes to Union County Republican Chad Faulker, a Knox County deputy sheriff.

 

At issue is this Campfield blog post from September 2008: “Word is a ... mail piece has gone out exposing Byrges (sic) multiple drug arrests. Including arrests for possession and drug dealing. (I hear the mug shots are gold.)”

Unfortunately for Campfield, “word” was false, and falsely accusing someone of a crime is libel, so he’s been sued. Byrge’s lawyer, David Dunaway, accuses the senator of using his state-owned computer to make a false allegation with the intention of influencing an election.

And it wasn’t just any election. It was the election that changed the balance of power in the Tennessee House of Representatives from Democratic to Republican – by one skinny vote."

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